SM U 104

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SM U 104
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German EmpireGerman Empire (Reichskriegsflagge)
Construction data
Submarine type: Two-hull ocean-
going boat official draft from MS -type
war mission F
Series: U 99 - U 104
Builder: AG Weser, Bremen
Build number: 255
Keel laying: 4th August 1916
Launch: July 3, 1917
Commissioning: August 12, 1917
Technical specifications
Displacement: 750 tons (above water)
952 tons (under water)
Length: 67.60 m
Width: 6.32 m
Draft: 3.65 m
Pressure body ø: 4.05 m
Max. Diving depth: 50 m
Dive time: 45-52 p
Drive: Diesel engines 2400 PS
E-machines 1200 PS
Speed: 16.5 knots (above water)
8.8 knots (under water)
Armament: 2 × 50 cm bow torpedo tube
2 × 50 cm stern
torpedo tube (10–12 torpedoes)
1 × 10.5 cm deck gun (from 1918)
2 (from 1918 1) × 8.8 cm deck gun
Mission data
Commander:
  • Kurt Bernis
Crew (target strength): 4 officers
32 men
Calls: 1917: 2
1918: 2
Successes: 7 sunk merchant ships
Whereabouts: Sunk by British sloop Jessamine in St. George's Canal on April 25, 1918

SM U 104 was a diesel-electric submarine of the German Imperial Navy that was used in the First World War .

Calls

U 104 was on the 4 August 1916 laid Kiel , expired on 3 July 1917 at the AG Weser in Bremen from the stack and was put into service on August 12, 1917th From October 1917 the boat was assigned to the II. U- Flotilla in Helgoland and Wilhelmshaven . The first and only in command was Lieutenant Captain Kurt Bernis.

U 104 led four during World War enterprises in the eastern North Atlantic through. Seven merchant ships with a total tonnage of 10,493  GRT were sunk. In addition to ships of the war opponents, these included Danish and Norwegian cargo ships .

The largest ship sunk by U 104 was the British cargo ship Sapele with 4,366 GRT. The Sapele was sunk on October 26, 1917 on her voyage from Liverpool to Sierra Leone about 100  nautical miles northwest of Tory Island ( Ireland ). Three people were killed.

Whereabouts

U 104 left his base on April 10, 1918 for a patrol around the British Isles . On April 23, 1918, the boat was damaged by depth charges from the US destroyer Cushing , but was able to escape. When the crew wanted to repair the damage to the pressure hull, they were surprised by the British sloop Jessamine on the night of April 25, 1918 . The Jessamine pounded towards U 104 . Bernis let go of diving, but was forced to the surface by several depth charges. However, the U 104 was already so badly damaged that it could no longer swim. Some crew members tried to get off the boat through the bow hatch. However, only one man, machinist's mate Karl Eschenberg, was rescued alive by the British. U 104 fell roughly on the position 52 °  N , 6 °  W .

Notes and individual references

  1. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Karl Müller, Erlangen, 1993, p. 136.
  2. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Karl Müller, Erlangen, 1993, p. 123.
  3. ↑ Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966 . Karl Müller, Erlangen, 1993, p. 69.
  4. ↑ According to www.uboat.net , eight ships with a total of 10,795 tons were sunk.
  5. ↑ www.uboat.net: WWI U-boat Successes - Ships hit by U 104 (English)
  6. ↑ www.uboat.net Ships hit during WWI - Sapele (English)
  7. ↑ Sapele on www.wrecksite.eu (English)
  8. ^ Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes, Graefelfing, 1998, p. 47.
  9. ↑ Dwight R. Messimer: Lost - World War I U-Boat Losses. Naval Institute Press, Annapolis 2002, ISBN 1-55750-475-X , pp. 117f.

literature

  • Bodo Herzog: German U-Boats 1906–1966. Karl Müller, Erlangen, 1993, ISBN 3-86070-036-7 .
  • Paul Kemp: The German and Austrian submarine losses in both world wars. Urbes, Graefelfing, 1998, ISBN 3-924896-43-7 .

Web links